


By Your Command

by singtolife



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alpha Command, Alpha Keith (Voltron), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Established Relationship, Insecure Lance, Lance (Voltron) Whump, Langst, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Omega Lance, alpha order, alpha shiro
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-18
Updated: 2017-10-05
Packaged: 2018-12-03 15:43:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11535309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/singtolife/pseuds/singtolife
Summary: Lance has always been insecure about both his place on the team and his omega status. When Keith accidentally alpha orders Lance against the omega's will, the little confidence that Lance has gained is destroyed. Shiro's left to pick up the pieces of Lance's heart while trying to stop himself from bashing Keith's thick skull in.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Was gonna be a one-shot, then got suuuper long. Should update with the end soon.  
> Maybe 2-3 Chapters?
> 
> Come request a fic at my writing blog:  
> [fuafuakiss](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/fuafuakiss)
> 
> Or my normal blog: [delablossom](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/delablossom)

Honestly, Lance wouldn’t have been surprised if this was all some elaborate Galran scheme to make him go insane. Cause it was working.

The first attack had been by his sheets. It had wrapped his leg in its grip and refused to let go when he went to get out of bed. Cue faceplant and a red mark in the center of his forehead that wouldn’t go away. Next, his shower had decided to be temperamental. He would barely nudge the handle, and he would either be frozen to a Lance-sicle or scalded like he was some type of steamed alien seafood. Getting dressed was just a nightmare of missing clothes and colorful swear words. Thank all the gods in the universe Shiro was still snoring away in their shared bed, or he would’ve gotten a real scolding for his vulgar creativity.

By the time Lance made it down to breakfast, it was safe to say he was in a foul mood. Which was made five times worse by the fact that he had arrived at the same time as Keith.

“God, Lance,” Keith complained, trying to shove Lance’s arm away from the food goo lever. “Can’t you wait five seconds for once? You’re always budging in line.”

“As if,” Lance whined back, hip bumping Keith to keep him out of the way as he finished getting his food. “I’m just always there before you. Can’t help it if you’re slow.”

“Yeah, I’m the slow one,” Keith gave up with a huff. He stood back to wait for Lance to finish, tapping his foot impatiently.

Lance spun around and pointed his spoon at Keith threateningly. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

“Whatever,” Keith rolled his eyes. “Just get out of the damn way already.” He shouldered his way past Lance, who was still glaring at him, to get his own food.

Immediately, Lance’s face fell in a pout. Of course Keith had to be a jerk that day. He probably had some sort of sixth sense for when Lance least wanted him to be an asshole.

Lance knew he wasn’t the best paladin on the team. In anything. He wasn’t smart or fast or strong, but he left those things up to the alphas. He had found his niche in being a support, the leg of Voltron holding his team up so that the others could be the ones to kick major ass.

It had taken many a nights sobbing into Shiro’s chest as the older man soothed his insecurities to come to that understanding. Shiro had taught him to be who he was and use those skills to his advantage rather than endlessly push himself to be an imagined standard of paladin strength. It would only burn him out, destroy his confidence and any value he placed on himself. Didn’t mean it still didn’t hurt when Keith made a jab at him, but he was trying his best to let such comments slide.

On good days, that is.

If left to his brooding, Lance’s mood would have plummeted faster than one of the lions with its power cut. Thankfully, Shiro sleepily walked in just as Lance had decided he wasn’t so hungry anymore and just wanted to go back to bed. Shiro took one look at his boyfriend’s face and pulled him into a tight hug, his strong arms wrapping around Lance like a barrier from the world.

“Good morning, handsome,” Shiro rumbled in his deep morning voice, his chest reverberating with sound. “You should’ve woken me up. We could have come to breakfast together.”

Lance tucked his head in Shiro’s neck, reveling in the familiar scent of the alpha. “Yeah, well, you were up late last night being all leaderly,” he sighed before looking up to smirk. “As sexy as you are, you still need your beauty sleep to keep up with my good looks.”

Shiro laughed, shaking his head as he pushed Lance towards the table where the rest were in the process of eating their food. Just as Lance turned around, Shiro sneakily smacked Lance’s butt before running to the kitchen to get his own plate of goo.

Lance shook his head, smiling to himself as he sat between Hunk and Pidge. Even just those few seconds with Shiro had improved Lance’s mood massively, and he found his appetite returning. Maybe his day wouldn’t turn out so bad after all.

xxx

By the time breakfast was over, he was already starting to regret his earlier optimism.

Just as everyone had finished eating, Allura had decided to make an announcement that they would be doing on-planet survival exercises that day. Tasked with making it through the terrain and back to the castle with very limited supplies, the paladins would be split off into two groups and dropped on separate sides of the planet.

It wouldn’t have been too terrible if Lance hadn’t been paired up with Keith. Of course Allura would think that they needed the most bonding out of everyone. And what better way to do it than being thrust into a forced life-or-death experience?

Lance had immediately started whining unhappily, questioning why he couldn’t be on Shiro’s team when they clearly worked so well together. As usual, Keith had shot back saying that Lance was an idiot and would clearly take advantage of their relationship to get away with doing nothing. That was just how omegas were.

And Lance had seen red. Just as he was about to smack Keith’s ugly alpha face all the way to Zarkon’s doorstep and back, Shiro had intervened and kept the peace, ushering the red and blue paladins in opposite directions to cool off and get their heads on straight before it was time to leave.

An hour later, Lance was still peeved but working to shake it off as he walked down to the airlock, helmet in hand. A tight feeling of dread had settled in his gut, and he was convinced it was all Keith’s fault. There was no way he’d be feeling so wound up if any of the others had been assigned as his partner. Just thinking of the red paladin made his whole body heat up in rage.

But none of that was going to help the situation. He’d just have to slap on his usual smile and slog his way through. If he left the “playing nice” up to Keith, they would be stuck on the planet for the rest of their short lives. And he’d much rather be doing literally anything else. He figured the sooner they got this done, the faster he could drag Shiro off to their room and forget about the whole thing.

Keith was already by the door, helmet on and ready to depart. Neither spoke a word to the other but simply listened to Allura’s instructions and waited for their drop. The other paladins filled in the silence, talking about strategy and joking about Shiro’s arm being a flashlight, until they reached their destination and were let out at the bottom of a canyon made of squishy green rocks. Shiro had given Lance a final peck on the lips and a good luck before jogging after his teammates.

Lance watched through a window as Shiro’s familiar outline disappeared into a shapeless grey blob as the castle lifted off into the atmosphere. The pulling feeling of distress in his gut only seemed to grow more pronounced the further he got from his alpha, but he knew it was just his omega instincts being unhappy with the separation. He was a strong, independent omega who didn’t need an alpha to take care of him, and he was ready to prove it to Keith.

When the castle touched down, Allura once more came on the intercom. “I know you heard me instruct the other paladins, but in case either of you weren’t listening,” Lance rolled his eyes at the clear jab “I will repeat them just in case. You each have basic tracking devices in your armor that allow you to locate the castle and, in turn, us to locate you. This location is approximately two sun cycle’s journey from our chosen rendezvous spot, but the trip can be made in half that time if done well. If you do not arrive within three sun cycles, we will find and rescue you with the mission being regarded as a failure. Any questions?”

“We’re fine, Princess. Just let us out so we can get this over with,” Lance grumbled, fitting his helmet on his head. “I don’t want to be breathing Keith-air any longer than I have to.”

“You’re not even breathing my air. We’re not sharing a helmet,” Keith scowled and stomped off the ship. Lance just rolled his eyes at the obvious statement and followed close behind. The ship took off a moment later, leaving the two sullen men alone on the edge of what looked like a small forest, complete with black-leaved trees wrapped in bright red vines. The dirt under their feet was similar to jagged wood chips, but every few seconds, black water would bubble up from the ground to turn the woods into an ankle-deep swamp.

“You know, we could just make this a spa day.” Lance bent to pick up one of the pieces on the ground, testing the pointy ends and finding them razor sharp. Probably wasn’t wood then. “A little exfoliation and a good, old-fashioned mud bath, am I right?” He tossed the chip back to the ground where it landed with an oddly metallic ping.

Keith was instantly scowling, balling his hands into fists as the annoyance that had been simmering under the surface bubbled up. “Are you stupid?! This isn’t some vacation, Lance!”

Lance’s expression darkened as his own frustration rose to meet Keith’s. “You think I don’t know that?! I’m trying my best, Keith! Excuse me for trying to lighten the mood a little!”

“Cracking dumb jokes isn’t going to help anything! Can you at least do something useful for once?!” Keith spat back.

“You haven’t even given me a chance yet!” They were shouting now, voices loud and piercing in the quiet forest air. “You think I’m just some stupid omega who can’t do anything, don’t you?! I may not be the strongest paladin in Voltron, but at least I deserve a little bit of respect!”

“But you’ve done nothing to earn my respect! All you do is whine and complain like a pup!” Keith growled, getting up in Lance’s face, their visors practically touching.

Lance flinched but tried his best to maintain eye contact despite his instincts telling him to look away, bare his neck, and submit. If he couldn’t stand up to Keith then there was no hope of ever being seen as anything more than a burden to the team. “You have no clue what you’re talking about! Just because I’m an omega doesn’t mean I’m worthless!”

“Doesn’t it?!” Keith shouted back as he grabbed the front of Lance’s armor and yanked him forwards. Their helmets collided, but Keith simply ripped his off in anger, not caring about their usual safety protocol in a foreign atmosphere. “Omegas can’t fight! They can’t fight or lead or kill! They get distracted by their emotions and, in this world, that means someone will end up dead! And you know who that’s probably going to be?! Shiro!”

A spike of pain flashed through Lance’s stomach as his mind conjured an image of Shiro, lifeless on the ground, his blood on Lance’s hands. Suddenly, he wasn’t getting enough oxygen--his helmet was suffocating him. He pushed Keith off before ripping it off and tossing it to the side just as Keith had done. Immediately, he was hit with Keith’s scent as the alpha released more and more dominant pheromones, trying to get Lance to submit through instinct alone. Lance wasn’t even sure if Keith knew he was doing it, but every breath Lance took filled him with a fear that had his stomach in knots and his glands aching with unreleased pheromones that he was trying his hardest to suppress. If his scent radiated distress or submission now, Keith would only see it as Lance trying to manipulate the situation using the secondary traits Keith clearly hated. “You know I would never—“

“That’s the problem, Lance!” Keith interrupted with a harsh laugh. “I don’t! The only thing I know you’re good for is complaining and getting in the goddamn way!”

“Just shut up! You know none of that is true!” Lance tried to protest.

“No! You shut up!” Keith exploded, losing what little control he had left. Lance shrank back as his mouth automatically clicked shut, Keith’s scent and commanding voice washing over him. “I’m done dealing with your bullshit! If you’re just going to get in the way, you can sit here—don’t move—and wait for us to save your ass like the weak omega you are!” With that, Keith turned around with a roar and stalked off into the vegetation, not sparing Lance a look.

If he had, he would have been horrified by what he saw.

Keith had used his alpha voice. He had used his alpha voice to order Lance to obey. To sit down, shut up, and not move. As soon as Keith had directed his attention away, Lance had collapsed to the ground. He was on his knees with his face pressed into the razor-sharp shards that made up the ground, his neck exposed in submission. His hands were on either side of his head, halfway between protecting himself and showing he wasn’t a threat. His chest was pressed into his knees, curling up in a ball in an attempt to look smaller, but his whole body trembled, threatening to topple him over. And Lance had no way to disobey, his very biology locking his limbs into place even as he choked and cried in humiliation, bowing down like he was less than nothing, groveling at the feet of a superior alpha. He was made to submit and so he was.

Lance stayed as still as he could, not even moving when the water rose up to cover his face and hands in black liquid. Every time it happened, Lance would gasp for breath before being submerged once more in an endless cycle of choking for air and feeling like his lungs would burst. It didn’t help that he was now crying, his chest rattling with sobs as Keith’s words and the realization of what had happened sunk in.

Keith had been right—he was useless. What had he done to deserve a spot on the team? Shot a few people? Kicked a bad guy or two? Maybe pissed some Galra off with some quippy remark? No, Keith was more than right. They didn’t need him. They never had.

And Shiro. God, Shiro, his alpha…Lance loved him so much. Even though Shiro had problems of his own—huge, deep, life-altering problems—he put up with Lance’s shit day in and day out. How did Shiro feel when Lance was crying over something stupid? Lance hadn’t even thought of Shiro’s feelings. There was no way Shiro would want to bear the burden of Lance’s petty problems when he already had a million and one things weighing him down. Lance was just so selfish!

These thoughts went round and round in his head, over and over, telling him he was useless, pathetic, weak, boring, selfish, ugly…And it was all true.

The knot in Lance’s stomach wound tighter and tighter with each circle of his thoughts. The pain was nearly as sharp as the chips digging into his hands, face, and knees, drawing blood that would be washed away with each surge of water around him. But this ache wouldn’t wash away, burrowing deep into his abdomen with a vengeance. If he could move, Lance would be desperately digging his fingers into his stomach and massaging his tense muscles for all he’s worth. As it was, the lack of oxygen as he fought for breath seemed to anesthetize him slightly, his head spinning and making his thoughts into an almost incoherent mess of self-hate and panic.

Lance had no way to tell how much time was passing. He had closed his eyes to keep the water out, but even the few times he had opened them hadn’t told him much. He didn’t know if time worked the same on this mystery planet as back on earth. If it did, he still wouldn’t have been able to tell how light it was with his limited view of the ground. He had to screw up his eyes to even see the shards digging into the tip of his nose.

So Lance started counting in upsurges of water. Honestly, it was probably the only thing keeping him rooted to reality. The cold liquid knocked him out of his head for a moment as it cooled down his rapidly overheating skin. He hadn’t even noticed how hot he had gotten, his body pulsing with heat in time with his heartbeat. And it was only getting worse with time.

47 waves of water later, Lance felt like he was going to explode. The heat and pain in his gut had built until the pressure was unbearable, ready to burst at any second. If he could make a sound, if he hadn’t been ordered into silence, he would be groaning and yelling for everything he was worth. Maybe someone would be able to hear and come rescue him, but he wasn’t sure if this planet even had intelligent life…

It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered when it felt like his bones were melting. The only other time he’d ever felt this bad in his life was…

When he was in heat. He was in heat. How had he not realized?! Was he that stupid?! He knew what a heat felt like, for God’s sake!

But this felt worse than any other heat he had been through. He had never felt this pain. Of course, he had also been able to move around and breath properly, but this was beyond anything he could have ever imagined.

It suddenly struck him that there was one more difference—his alpha. Since running out of suppressants after their rushed escape from Earth, Shiro had helped Lance out, getting him through the pain and desperate need without forcing Lance into sex. After Shiro had finally started courting Lance, they had finally become intimate and made it through Lance’s heats and Shiro’s ruts the old-fashioned way. Luckily, birth control was easy enough to make with the advanced Altean technology, so there was nothing holding them back.

His body must have gotten used to being sated by the alpha and was now in shock without him near. Either that or their pre-bond connection they had formed was enough to intensify his heats in preparation for mating. There was no way to know, and at this point, he didn’t care. All he knew was that his body was screaming against the other alpha’s orders. He needed to find his alpha—he was the only one who could sooth this pain and protect Lance in this vulnerable state.

By the 312th wave, even the cold water on his body failed to put a dent in the flames devouring his body. The pain was unbelievable, overshadowing any arousal he might have felt and replacing it with raw agony. Lance had never heard of anyone dying from a heat, but he’d also never heard of anyone in quite this situation either. With the way he was feeling now, he wouldn’t be surprised if his heart just stopped, got too tired of all the stress and just quit. God knows he was ready—he just wanted it to end.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone makes it back to the castle. In one piece?

Keith made it back to the castle only minutes before the others. Allura and Coran had been slightly shocked at his arrival, clearly not expecting it. “Keith?” Allura blinked. “You’re back already? Where’s Lance?”

Before Keith even had time to respond, they heard a shout in the distance. “Hey, Princess! We made it!”

All three turned to see Pidge with one hand cupping her mouth and the other one waving to get their attention. A big smile was on her face as she casually strolled along with Shiro and Hunk, the same grin adorning their faces as well. Each one was laden down with oddly shaped lumps of what looked like…fur?

“We found some weird fruits that we figured out were edible, and they’re super good, so we figured they’d make a really great dinner!” Hunk gushed excitedly in explanation as soon as they were within normal speaking distance.

“How did you know they were edible?” Allura questioned, slightly wary.

“I was able to put the fruit through a simulation using some of my new tech that I brought out to field test,” Pidge puffed up her chest in pride at her own genius. “It seems the only side effect is an increase in flammability.”

“So we’ll be avoiding any fireballs for the next day or so,” Shiro laughed, placing a hand on Pidge’s shoulder. He looked just like the proud space dad everyone claimed he was.

They all started chatting enthusiastically about the fruit and their dinner plans, walking back into the castle laughing and joking, relaying stories of their adventures.

Until Shiro threw out a question: “Where’s Lance at? Did he go for a shower already?” Everyone paused, turning to look at Keith.

“Yes, I was wondering that myself. The young lad didn’t return with Keith here,” Coran stated, pulling on his mustache in thought.

“He didn’t? Keith?” Shiro questioned, his eyes reflecting his confusion as he looked at the red paladin.

Keith scowled and looked away from everyone’s questioning eyes. “No. We split up.”

“Split up?”

“Yeah. Like went our separate ways,” Keith grumbled, reluctant to reveal any details as he refused to meet anyone’s eye.

Shiro was clearly not happy with that answer. A dangerous shadow had fallen on his face as he guessed what Keith had done. “You ditched him. Even though you were under orders to work together.”

“He was the one complaining,” Keith angrily defended. “He wasn’t taking it seriously, and I wasn’t going to drag his dead weight again!”

Shiro was about to snap back but checked himself, visibly calming and focusing on the task at hand. They had to find Lance—he was the priority right then, not Keith and the massive lecture he had coming.

“Pidge, can you pull up Lance’s tracker on the castle navigation and then send the location to the black lion?” Shiro instructed, turning to Pidge as they nodded. He then turned to the yellow paladin who was nervously wringing his hands. “Hunk, I’m going to need you to whip up something for Lance to eat—he probably wasn’t able to find anything he trusted was edible. When you’re done, you and Coran,” he nodded to the orange-haired man who gave a nod in return, “can prepare the healing pods or any first aid in case he’s injured. I’ll fly ahead to do what I can.”

Handing the fruits in his hand to Keith, Shiro addressed the red paladin, “You can take all this food and find somewhere to store it. When you’re done, help out everyone else with whatever they need.” Keith opened his mouth to protest but one look from Shiro had him nodding and turning to gather what he could carry from the other two paladins before they took off to do their own tasks.

xxx

It only took a half hour to make it to Lance’s position.

The air in the castle was tight with anxiety. As everyone went about their tasks, they did so as quietly as they could, as if any small noise might tip the balance and throw everything into chaos. One scuff of a shoe or clink of armor could cause their fragile worlds to come crashing down.

In the time it took to get there, Lance’s dot on the map hadn’t moved, and he wasn’t answering any of their calls. The coms had slowly gone silent as everyone waited anxiously for Shiro to arrive. The castle couldn’t travel as quickly so they were all relying on Shiro to let them know what he or Lance needed. All they could do was sit tight and wait for their leader.

When the word finally did come, it was Shiro’s panicked voice that broke the silence. “I see him, and—He’s not moving. He’s just sitting there…” The clunk of boots on metal echoed through the line as Shiro descended out of his lion. The noise changed to strangely crunching clinks as he hit the ground. “Lance!” They heard him calling out. “Lance!”

It wasn’t until his steps stopped and his voice changed to a hushed whisper that they knew Shiro had gotten to the blue paladin. “Lance, baby, answer me. Are you okay?”

Silence. Then some shuffling. “Lance, baby, I’m here. Can you look at me? Can you hear me?” More silence.

“Guys, he’s not doing well,” Shiro’s voice was tight with worry. “His eyes just keep wandering all over the place—he won’t look at me. And he’s mumbling something but not making any sound. I found him face down in this—well, it looks like water, but I’m not sure. And…” He hesitated, breathing heavily. “I can’t be sure, but i-it smells like he…he might be in heat.”

“In heat?!” Hunk yelled in shock, making the rest of the team flinch away from their speakers. “But he didn’t—we would’ve known, right?!”

They could practically hear Shiro shaking his head. “He didn’t say anything to me, and I didn’t smell anything off this morning, but stress can sometimes trigger it early. I’m not even one-hundred percent sure—his scent is extremely distressed so I can’t tell much more than that. It’s kind of hard to even—ugh—to even concentrate right now past the smell. ”

“Focus on his injuries first, and we can worry about his heat later,” Allura stated, taking control. “For now, just get him back into your lion and meet us back at the castle. Coran will be ready with a stretcher. We’ll keep Keith and Pidge out of the way so you alphas don’t get into an unnecessary scuffle if Shiro gets protective.”

Everyone verbalized their consent to the plan before the sounds of Shiro lifting Lance and taking him back to the lion took over again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bridge between the action. A lot shorter, but the last chap should be longer. 
> 
> All your comments make me happy :) 
> 
> Come request things at my writing blog: [fuafuakiss](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/fuafuakiss)
> 
> Or my normal blog: [delablossom](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/delablossom)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They find out the truth.

Shiro was trying his best to stay calm, but his instincts were raging inside of him, demanding he be with his omega and tend to his wounds. The rational side of him knew Lance was better off healing in the pods, but his alpha side wanted to shatter the barrier between them. Just being able to touch his omega would made him feel a thousand times better.

Instead, he was left pacing around the medical bay, checking on Lance every few laps around the room. Everyone else had cleared out as soon as they’d seen that Lance was safe in the pod and Shiro was changed out of his armor. No one wanted to stick around and deal with a wound-up alpha. 

Coran had said Lance wouldn’t be in long. The only thing he was suffering from was dehydration and a few superficial wounds. Because Alteans didn’t have secondary genders, they were unable to confirm with the pod if Lance was in heat or not—only that there seemed to be much higher levels of hormones than previous scans.

That didn’t help Shiro’s state of mind. Not only was his omega injured but in heat too! He was honestly pretty proud of himself for keeping himself under control around the others. Nothing made an alpha more protective than injury or a heat. Combined? Well, there was a reason the others had left him alone.

The sound of the pod hissing open broke Shiro from his thoughts. Rushing quickly across the room, he caught Lance in his arms just before the omega was about to fall. The familiar scent of Lance enveloped him, fresh and breezy but still riddled with anxiety and heat. The pod had regulated his hormone levels enough to stave off the symptoms for a while, but he knew in an hour or so, the heat would come back full force.

“Lance, baby, you okay?” Shiro whispered as he made his way to a chair nearby. He lifted the other boy into his lap, cradling Lance’s head against his chest. The alpha immediately started stroking Lance’s soft, now-clean brown hair. 

It took Lance a moment, but he blinked open his eyes blearily, looking up at his alpha in confusion. He opened his mouth as if trying to respond, but when realizing no sound was coming out, looked at Shiro in panic, his hands clutching tightly onto his boyfriend’s shirt.

“What’s wrong?” Shiro cupped Lance’s face in his human hand, his eyebrows drawing together in concern. 

Lance shook his head frantically, eyes pleading for the other man to understand. When Shiro just continued giving him a confused look, Lance grabbed the hand on his face and held the palm towards himself. With his pointer finger, he started writing letters on Shiro’s palm. 

“K-E-L?” Shiro guessed but only received a look from his boyfriend that had him backtracking. “K-E-I? T… Keith?”

This time, Lance gave a slow nod, his eyes starting to fill up with tears. When Shiro tried to question him, Lance only shook his head, tears threatening to spill from his eyes, and buried his head in Shiro’s shirt. 

At that point, Shiro’s alpha side was about ready to rip Keith in half. Something had happened, something that had clearly traumatized the omega in his arms, and Keith seemed at the center of it. If Keith didn’t tell him every single detail, Shiro would not be responsible for any harm that came to the other alpha.

In the meantime, he would take care of Lance to the best of his ability. And that involved the rest of the team. 

Hefting Lance into his arms bridal style, Shiro carried the shaking paladin out of the room, down the hall, and to the common area where the other paladins were waiting in various states of lounging. Hunk was nervously standing behind the couch, digging his fingers into the fabric as if he were kneading dough. Coran, Allura, and Pidge were seated, deep in some sort of debate that had the two women frowning. Keith was sitting on the floor with his back against the edge of the couch, a troubled look on his face as he tapped a rhythm onto his pants.

As soon as Shiro entered with Lance in his arms, everyone perked up and looked to the couple, concern crossing all of their faces as they saw Lance crying. 

“Is he okay?” 

“What’s wrong?”

“Is he in pain?”

“What happened?” They all chimed in at the same time, their voices overlapping to create a mess of questions. Even Keith had jumped onto his feet, hurrying over to hover close by in concern. 

Shiro shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, heaving a sigh. “I don’t know. He won’t talk. All he told me was ‘Keith’”

All eyes darted to Keith and back. Before Keith had a chance to say anything, Shiro was already walking away. He wanted to get his omega comfortable before any possible trouble should rise.

While Shiro had been pacing around the medical bay, the team had pulled some furniture together and brought blankets from each of the rooms to make a full-fledged nest in the common room. They had decided it would be comforting to be surrounded by the scents of the pack while providing him a place to rest while he ate and filled them in on what happened. 

Walking over to the nest, Shiro slowly settled the omega in his arms into the mound of soft material. Tears still trickled down Lance’s cheeks, but he appeared to visibly relax at the familiar smells. His hands stayed firmly grasped onto Shiro’s shirt, though, forcing the alpha to find his own spot wrapped around Lance’s body. 

The rest of the team draped themselves on the edges of the nest in small cracks between blankets and couch. They were all clearly eager to figure out what had happened to the blue paladin as nothing seemed to make much sense at that point. Keith kept to the side, trying not to get too close in case he encroached on Shiro’s territory. The air around Keith was still tense since no one knew what role he had played in the incident.

Pidge, having thought ahead, produced a clear glass tablet and handed it over to Shiro who in turn tucked it in front of Lance. On the screen, Lance could type whatever he needed to say. 

“Take your time,” Shiro instructed softly, kissing the top of Lance’s head before drawing back to watch his face for any signs of distress.

Lance’s hands were shaking as he slowly punched in letters with his pointer finger. After a minute or so, he stopped, shook his head, and hid his face as he handed it back to Shiro to read. 

Shiro repositioned himself, clearing his throat before beginning to read. “‘Keith ordered me,’” he looked back to Lance in confusion, not quite understanding what the blue paladin was trying to say. “He ordered you?”

Lance nodded, his eyes once again brimming with tears. It was clear he didn’t want to directly reveal what happened. 

Trying to spare Lance, Shiro looked to Keith instead with a thinly veiled scowl. “Do you know what he’s talking about?”

Keith immediately flew to the defensive, crossing his arms across his chest defiantly. “Of course not! All I told him was that if he was going to sit there and complain then he should just wait there until we came back for him!”

Lance grabbed the tablet back from Shiro, his hands still shaky but determined this time. He only punched in one word before turning it back around for Shiro to see. He tapped the new word before pointing back to his original statement.

“Alpha. Ordered. Alpha ordered…” Shiro mused, taking a second to think. His eyebrows drew together in concentration, but when the meaning finally set in, his mouth fell open in shock, his eyes wide in disbelief. 

It took less than a second for Shiro to recover, his face plummeting into a fierce snarl, a growl ripping out of his throat as he lunged across the small space towards Keith. His forearm had Keith pinned by the throat to the couch with his Galra arm poised to beat Keith’s face in. 

Luckily, Hunk and Pidge had realized what was happening a split second before Shiro. They were able to latch onto his arm as he drew it back to strike, both using their entire body weight to hold Shiro in place. Pidge looked almost comical, latching onto Shiro’s arm like a monkey on a tree, all her limbs securely wrapped around the Galran tech. Allura had her hands out like she didn’t know quite what to do or where to help, and Coran had jumped up like he would have been the next to dive forward if Hunk and Pidge hadn’t.

Keith himself was spluttering, unable to draw a breath as his face slowly turned the color of his jacket. All of Shiro’s weight was currently bearing down on Keith’s windpipe as Shiro fought to bring his other arm forward. Keith was desperately trying to push up on the larger man’s forearm, but Shiro’s weight and strength coupled with his intense rage left the boy with no hope of succeeding.

“What the hell did you do, Keith?! What did you tell him to do?!” Shiro yelled, his lips pulling back from his teeth threateningly as his scent spiked with dominance. 

“Shiro, he can’t speak! You have to let him up!” Pidge pleaded as Hunk nodded along frantically. 

“No! He hurt my omega! He needs to pay!” Shiro raged, his voice only rising. His alpha instincts were overloading his ability to think, demanding he get revenge for the one he loved most, his soon-to-be mate.

“Like we aren’t all pissed as hell too! But we need to know what happened so we can reverse the order!” Pidge shouted, her own alpha presence reducing as much as possible to avoid appearing as another threat. 

Luckily, the small voice of logic in Shiro’s head agreed with Pidge, and his need to care for his omega took over. With one last snarl, he drew back, using his arm as leverage to push himself up and give Keith a warning. Immediately, Keith sputtered, coughing and trying to draw air back into his lungs. Shiro just ignored him as Pidge and Hunk released Shiro’s arm, so he could settle back down with Lance.

During the clash, Lance had curled in on himself, eyes squeezed shut as silent tears ran down his cheeks. Shiro’s heart near broke seeing his usually vibrant omega so broken. 

Taking his place beside Lance once more, Shiro tucked the blankets more securely around Lance’s body, wiping Lance’s tears with his thumbs before securely tucking the boy’s face into his chest, effectively hiding his omega from the prying eyes around them. He knew Lance didn’t cry easily, but when he did, Lance never wanted anyone to see and pity him. Shiro hadn’t seen Lance cry until almost a half-year into their relationship, and it had taken Shiro’s near-death to do it. 

Now that Shiro was occupied and not about to murder Keith, everyone else cautiously settled back down again. They didn’t quite look as comfortable as before—they were all slightly tense and looked ready to leap into action if the situation should call for it. With the smell of distress leaking heavily from Lance’s body, their protective instincts were going haywire, demanding they comfort their wounded packmate. Shiro’s possessive scent helped deter them slightly, but it also made them extremely uncomfortable being in Shiro’s space. 

“Okay, Keith, tell us what happened.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thinking one more chapter? But I'm not good at planning so...
> 
> Come request a fic at my writing blog:  
> [fuafuakiss](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/fuafuakiss)
> 
> Or my normal blog: [delablossom](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/delablossom)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp. This just keeps getting longer and longer.
> 
> But I wanted to give you guys something! School is just a pain in my bottom dollar right now.
> 
> More as fast as I can!

Despite his time in the pod, Lance still wasn’t fully lucid as he lay in the nest his packmates had made for him. The only things he remembered outside of the painful and distressing haze of the last several hours was Shiro. His alpha had been the one to save him, take him away from that hellish place, and give him the blessed relief of pod-induced sleep.

He’d woken up to Shiro’s arms around him once again, catching and supporting his weight as he fell from the healing pod. His body and mind were absolutely drained of energy, unable to hold either himself or his thoughts aloft for longer than a few seconds at a time. Being cradled by Shiro’s strong arms, though, had put his tired body at ease.

Until Lance had to relay what had happened. He had tried to speak, tried to be a good omega for his alpha and answer Shiro’s questions, but no sound had come out of his mouth when he tried. The alpha command hadn’t been lifted yet and wouldn’t be unless he told Shiro what had happened.

Keith would just have to explain. As much as Lance didn’t want to face Keith, didn’t want to see that burning hatred in the alpha’s eyes again, Keith was the only one who could tell everyone what had happened and reverse the commands. Even if Keith didn’t want Lance around, didn’t think Lance was worthy of the blue paladin title or the right to be Shiro’s omega, Lance would have to burden them one last time just to return to normal. If the team agreed with Keith, if Shiro agreed that Lance wasn’t worth the effort, that Lance would just weigh him down, he’d accept their decisions and graciously bow out. Maybe they’d even drop him off back on Earth where he could hope to be married off to someone at least decently nice…

Lance had been slightly stunned to find that the team had made him a nest out their things—weren’t they mad at him? Disgusted? Disappointed? Or was this just their way of letting him off easy? A kindness before the kill?

It really didn’t matter, honestly. Lance knew his fate—if they attempted to soften the blow, the whole thing would be easier on everyone else.

That didn’t mean it was any easier on Lance. He couldn’t bring himself to write out the entirety of Keith’s actions—they were still too fresh in Lance’s mind. Every time Lance thought of what had happened, a slash of pain ripped through Lance’s heart. He had thought he and Keith were friends, teammates at the very least. Yeah, sometimes they hammered each other’s buttons, but Lance had always thought they’d have each others’ backs when pushed, that their relationship wasn’t so poisoned that Lance could dissolve it with a single shove.

And now he was destroying Shiro’s relationship with Keith too. Shiro hadn’t even hesitated to attack Keith, strangle him like a beast, like Shiro was no longer even human. Without even knowing everything, Shiro had been ready to pummel Keith into the ground. Keith, his best friend, his practical brother. Lance had always believed nothing short of straight-up Druid brainwashing would ever see them looking at each other with hatred in their eyes let alone threatening permanent bodily harm.

And it was all Lance’s fault. What was he doing to his team? Was he the pollution in their midst? Worse than a burden but a curse. Worse than useless but a poison. 

Lance couldn’t help the tears, but they felt dirty and selfish on his team. What right did he have to feel sorry for himself when Shiro was crushing Keith’s windpipe with his arm?

He should’ve been helping to stop his alpha, not drawing in on himself and whimpering silently like a pup. But he still couldn’t move, dammit! 

But his sobs only increased as Shiro was finally reigned in and returned to his side. The feel of the hard planes of Shiro’s body against his own felt like he was being burned, punished for his weakness.

No, it was just the pain of his heat flaring at his almost-mate’s touch. Either that or even his body wanted him to hurt at that point. No rest for the wicked.

“His heat is spiking again,” Shiro growled into Lance’s neck as he pumped out his alpha scent to soothe Lance’s whimpering. “You’d better tell us now, Keith, before I really lose my control.”

Lance didn’t open his eyes to see Keith’s face as the red paladin responded. “I don’t know…” a growl from Shiro as warning, “But my best guess would be...if he thought...I mean, I just told him to be quiet and wait if he wasn’t going to take it seriously. I never said to hurt himself or not do anything! And I didn’t… I’d never order him to do it!”

Shiro’s body tensed to respond, but Pidge beat him to it. “Whether you meant to or not, both your body and Lance’s might have interpreted it as a command if you weren’t in control of yourself. If that’s so, the only way we can fix it now is to have you take back any order you might have made.”

There’s silence for a second as Keith takes a breath and then, “...How would I do that?”

This time it’s Hunk to speak up. “Just a general blanket retraction. Like ‘I order you to return to how you were’ or ‘Ignore any other commands I’ve made to you.’”

Another breath, and Lance could feel Shiro actively try to hold onto what little control he had left. The alpha was slowly running his fingers through Lance’s hair to keep them both as calm as possible. Lance tried to push some soothing comfort into his scent, but he knew it was all over the place, a mix of distress and heat. 

There was a squeak of material as Keith got to his feet. Lance glanced up to see the other alpha facing him but avoiding eye contact. His hands were tense at his sides. 

“Lance, ignore any commands I’ve given to you,” he finally ordered with the authority of an alpha in his voice.   
Immediately, Lance’s muscles relaxed in ways they hadn’t been able to in hours. His chest heaved in a sob as words started leaking from his mouth. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, Shiro. It’s all my fault,” Lance cried, pulling away from his alpha to sit up and curl in on himself. “Don’t blame Keith. You know how I am--I pushed him, I wouldn’t be quiet. And--”

“Enough, Lance,” Shiro growled as he slowly sat up as well, effectively silencing Lance’s rambling. 

“Keith. Follow me.”

Xxx

A few minutes later, Shiro was sinking into a fighting stance in front of a clearly reluctant Keith. The black paladin had led the other alpha to the training room, and the rest of the team had warily trailed at a distance.

Lance had finally been able to reign in his overwhelming emotions enough to stop his tears but now found himself a nervous wreck. Hunk’s arms were both a comforting and restrictive presence around him as Shiro had ordered the larger beta to hold onto Lance. Pidge, Allura, and Coran stood just behind them, out of Lance’s sight, but he could feel their uncertainty in the air. 

As soon as Shiro sunk into a battle stance across the floor from Keith, though, Lance began desperately trying to wriggle free of Hunk’s strong hold. Being the pack omega meant he was supposed to keep the peace, reign in the Alpha’s tempers, and stop them from killing each other. 

But he was failing once again. 

“Please, Shiro, don’t fight him. It was an accident--he didn’t even--omegas are supposed to listen, and I--” 

“Keith needs to learn a little humility, and as pack Alpha, it’s my job to teach him,” Shiro responded coolly, his eyes never Keith’s carefully neutral face. “We’ll have a long talk about how much this isn’t your fault later.”

Shiro’s words knocked the fight right out of Lance. He deflated in Hunk’s arms, shame a heavy weight on his conscience as he recalled all the long hours the alpha had worked with Lance to undo years of self-hate and worthlessness ingrained deep into the omega’s mind. Failure. Failure. He couldn’t even stop himself from thinking of his own failure.

“Keith,” Shiro continued, bringing Lance’s attention back to the alphas. “Today, you put one of your pack mates in unnecessary danger, risking both his life and well-being as well as that of the pack’s. As punishment, you’re going to have to fight me to stay a part of that pack.”

Everyone gasped at Shiro’s declaration. Was he really going to throw Keith out if he lost to Shiro?

Shiro kept going, undisturbed by their reactions. “Prove to me that you’ll still give everything you have to be a part of this pack, that you will defend us with your life - Lance included. If you can’t agree with that, then you’re not fit to be a part of our bond.”

Keith’s face had shattered into one of complete shock as he took in Shiro’s words, his body unconsciously falling out of his tense stance to one of open vulnerability. “I...You...would really make me fight you? Really kick me out?” Keith finally managed to push through. His eyes were large and - dare Lance believe it - scared. “This is my home…You guys are my family. And you’re…-”

Shiro shook his head, not relaxing his own posture. “A family doesn’t choose its members by abandoning those it sees as unworthy. They don’t judge one another for their shortcomings but boost them to a mutual success.”

Keith’s face fell guiltily, but before he could respond, Shiro was already speaking again. “This is a fight to surrender. First to admit defeat or be unable to continue loses. Best of 3,” he instructed almost robotically, his face guarded. “On Coran’s go.”

All eyes fell on the Altean man who floundered for a second before clearing his throat and regaining his bearings. “Ah, yes. On your marks,” Keith slid back into his fighting stance, his face clearing of emotion. “Get set,” The alphas stared each other down, a secret conversation passing between their eyes. 

“Go!”

Shiro and Keith lunged at the same time, going for the each other’s throats.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get previews of the next chapter at my writing blog:  
> [fuafuakiss](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/fuafuakiss)
> 
> Or my nerd blog: [delablossom](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/delablossom)


End file.
